From Boggarts to Family
by AngelsofHades
Summary: After Lupin's class where Neville's Boggart turns into Severus Snape everyone laughs it off as childish fear, everyone but Snape. He slowly realizes that there is more to Neville's fear than just a mean teacher. Neville is emotionally and physically abused at home by his grandmother and his uncles. Something Snape decides to put a stop to. -Rated T to be safe- Mentions of abuse
1. Chapter 1

From Boggarts to Family

**Hi guys, me again! So last year I received a story request from **_**marthapreston4**_** for a family Neville and Severus fic. All requests like these are completely welcome and I would be honoured if anyone else wants me to write something for them. Hopefully this is as good as she hoped. It won't have a lot of chapters, but I'll try to make it more than a one-shot. **

**This is not a Severus/Neville pairing, but there may be slash if there is any pairing at all. It's a father/son relationship between the two. There will be abuse mentioned, but I'll try not to make it too bad. **

**Summary: After Lupin's class where Neville's Boggart turns into Severus Snape everyone laughs it off as childish fear, everyone but Snape. He slowly realises that there is more to Neville's fear than just a mean teacher. Neville is emotionally and physically abused at home by his grandmother and his uncles. Something Snape decides to put a stop to.**

**Now a lot of this chapter will be very similar to the actual book, but after this chapter there shouldn't be too much of a resemblance. **

**Disclaimer: I own naught but the plot. The characters belong to J.K Rowling and the idea is owned by **_**marthapreston4**_**. **

**Let's a go!**

Neville was panicking. He was struggling with the potion that Professor Snape had decided to 'teach' them this lesson. Neville couldn't remember what it was called but he had a vague idea about what it was supposed to do. It turned something's age backwards or something like that. He hadn't been able to remember things well since the..._ incident_. Right now, Neville wasn't really that concerned with what it was supposed to do, in favour of trying to make it right. He had no idea how it'd gone so bad, so quickly. One minute, everything seemed fine; the potion was boiling right, the ingredients were cut up correctly, and Professor Snape hadn't approached him at all this lesson so he was fully concentrated. But now it was orange. _Orange._ How had that happened! He stared at it in shock for a few moments before turning to the instructions and trying to find how that had happened. Maybe he might be able to save it before the Professor noticed. A dark shadow stopped in front of his cauldron and he flinched.

"Orange, Longbottom," Neville flinched again when the Professor spoke in a cruel tone, dragging his last name out, before picking up the ladle Neville had abandoned to read the instructions.

"Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one cat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?" Neville was trembling by the end of the Professor's mean rant. He was surprised that no-one had noticed his seizure-like flinch when the Professor called him... _boy. _He shuddered again, just thinking of the last time he'd been called that. He subconsciously rubbed the multiple burn marks that covered most of his arm.

He was confused though, as he _had _only added one cat spleen, and really, he hadn't put more than a dash of leech juice either. He flushed as he heard the snickers of the Slytherin's and Hermione's frustrated sigh. Thank Merlin she sat next to him, he would never _survive_ the lessons, let alone _pass_ them without her.

He was about to answer the terrifying man, to tell him that he _had_ done all of that, when Hermione spoke up in her polite, yet still slightly annoying voice.

"Please, sir, please, I could help Neville put it right-"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," Snape cut her off harshly, making Hermione flush red and all of the Gryffindors' blood to boil even hotter than when he'd been mean to Neville before he continued.

"Longbottom, at the end of the lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly." Neville paled drastically and struggled to take in another breath. Not Trevor. No matter how many times the blasted toad had tried to escape, he was still the only thing he'd ever gotten from his family that didn't end with him sore, bleeding, broken and in tears. As the horrible Professor moved away once again Neville turned to Hermione and begged her to help him.

The pair spent the next few minutes trying to bring his potion back to normal, with Hermione hissing instructions out of the side of her mouth as to not be seen when Neville noticed that two certain lumps of flesh were paying much more attention to him than their own potion. He also noticed that they had a wand lying on the side of the bench closest to him. It suddenly came to him. They had _sabotaged_ his potion! He sent a quick "_finite incantatem!" _at his potion and was both overjoyed and extremely angered when he found that the potion turned back to the acid green it was supposed to be. He heard Hermione breathe a sigh of relief and got back to work. Just as he was finishing Professor Snape spoke again,

"You should have finished your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's..." Neville paled again and he made sure everything was completed. He heard the cruel laughter of the large lumps of meat once again. He turned and sent a glare in Crabbe and Goyle's direction, immediately shutting them up. It was the harshest, angriest expression they had ever seen on the little lion's face. Hermione spoke to him again from the corner of her mouth but he reassured her by saying it was done.

He backed away from the potion cautiously and cleaned his bench and washed his equipment. When the lesson was nearly over professor Snape strode back over to Neville and sneered. Neville cowered and held onto Trevor as tightly as he could without hurting the fat toad. The Slytherin's snickered louder at the sound of Professor Snape called everyone over to Neville's bench.

"Everyone gather 'round, and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned." Neville whimpered as the Professor sent him another nasty grin. Neville could feel the worried glances of his housemates on his back when Snape plucked Trevor from his hands and took a small spoonful of Neville's fixed potion. He whimpered again when the potion was trickled down the throat of his precious toad.

No one made a sound when Trevor swallowed, before there was a quiet 'pop!' and Trevor the _tadpole_ was wriggling desperately in the professor's hand. Neville let out a silent sob of relief and the Gryffindors broke out into applause.

Snape looked like he'd sucked on a lemon as he pulled a small bottle from his black robes and poured some on Trevor. There was a toad in his palm again and he dumped it harshly into Neville's waiting hands, where it was then cradled to his chest. The Gryffindor's applause ended with Snape's sudden deduction of points.

"Five points from Gryffindor. I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed." Most of the Gryffindors practically _snarled_ at Snape after that, but all Neville could feel was the relief that his toad was still alive. He followed the others from the room in a daze. As he passed through the door he was pushed around by the Slytherins and ignored by the Gryffindors. It seemed that as long as he wasn't being directly attacked in front of them, they didn't really care. He sighed and headed to the first Defence against the Dark Arts class.

When he arrived at the classroom Professor Lupin wasn't there yet, so they all chose desks and pulled out their books, quills, parchment. The rest of the class was chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the teacher. Neville turned to the Golden Trio and thanked Hermione for helping him while deciding to leave out the fact that his potion was tampered with. Who knows what those three would do if he told them. When Professor Lupin entered the room they all quietened down somewhat while Neville turned to the front and watched as the kind, but slightly unhealthy looking teacher entered the room. He smiled at the room and placed his suitcase that had seen better days on the teacher's desk.

"Good afternoon," he greeted the class, "would you please put all your books back in your bags? Today will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands." There were curious looks tossed around the room as they all moved to put away their gear. The last practical lesson had had him strung up on the chandelier by a bunch of Cornish Pixies. When everyone was ready he spoke up again.

"Right then, if you'd all follow me." The class got to their feet as they followed the curious professor out of the classroom. Neville fingered his wand nervously. They were lead along the now deserted corridor and around a corner, where Peeves the Poltergeist was waiting, hanging upside down in midair, and stuffing chewing gum into the nearest door. Neville stifled his chuckles at the look of disgust and annoyance that most of the class bore on their faces at the sight of the Poltergeist. He himself got along quite well with the troublemaker, often helping him in the more physical aspects of his pranks after he'd been found in his first year by the age-old prankster after he'd been beaten by some older Slytherins for 'stress relief'. Neville had been shocked when the Poltergeist had panicked over his welfare, and even more so when Peeves had then dashed off to get him help. Less than thirty seconds later Peeves had come back around the corner with two identical red-heads running behind. Neville had found it funny that Peeves idea of help was some third year pranksters rather than a teacher, but he'd been very glad for it.

He also had his other injured healed when they took him to the infirmary, being able to blame them all on other students, of course, he had no names or appearances of his attackers, but he felt quite healthy afterward, and he'd made three friends.

Peeves didn't react to anyone until Professor Lupin was quite close to him. He wriggled his feet at the Professor before breaking out in the types of songs that he usually only reserved for the students.

"Loony, loopy Lupin, Loony, Loopy Lupin, Loony, Loopy Lupin-" the looks on the students faces almost had him laughing again, but he held his tongue between his teeth to keep silent. Neville was surprised though, at the fact that Professor Lupin was still smiling at the Poltergeist.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves, Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms." Neville was surprised by the pleasantness of the Professor's voice when he realised that was probably Professor Lupin's way of dealing with people. Nice them to death. He laughed silently at the thought.

Peeve completely ignored the Professor's words, blowing a wet kiss at him instead. He gave Neville a subtle wave that was returned that also went unnoticed by the other students. Neville turned his attention back to his teacher when he heard him sigh and draw his wand. He spoke to the class over his shoulder as he raised his wand to shoulder level and pointed it at Peeves.

"Please watch closely. Waddiwasi!" The chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and flew straight at Peeves... and into his left nostril. Peeves whirled back upright and zoomed over the student's heads and to the back of the class where Neville was standing, cursing all the way.

The class laughed at Peeves misfortune and as they continued on. Neville hung back to help Peeves get the chewing gum out. He heard the rest of the class cheering the teacher on, but felt the Professor turn back to stare at him when he started speaking quietly to Peeves. He wondered how great the teacher's hearing would have to be to have heard him from the front of the class. Quickly helping Peeves, he scurried after the class again.

"Inside, please." Professor Lupin's voice was quite and gentle, but still had the 'no-questions' tone. He opened the door and stood back, waiting for the kids to enter first. Neville scanned the room when he entered and saw they were in the staffroom. It was an odd room that ran quite long and was panelled. There were mismatched chairs scattered throughout the room, which was empty of all teachers but one. The one teacher that he did not want to see. He was sneering at the children, black eyes conveying his annoyance. As Professor Lupin entered the room he stood and spoke.

"Leave it open Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." With that he strode past the class, but before he left, caught sight of Neville and smirked horribly.

"Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear." Neville's face burned with embarrassment and he lowered his head in shame. He really was useless.

...

Remus' tensed as Mooney let out a very loud growl in his head. He was surprised no one had noticed actually. His eyes snapped to Neville Longbottom, the boy who he had been watching at the beginning of class. He smelt like tears and a bit of fear. He'd been shocked when he heard the small boy speaking kindly to Peeves the Poltergeist after his little demonstration to the class. He watched as the boy's eyes widened before flashing the same fear as before and an immense sadness. His cheeks burned and he lowered his head. Remus was furious. To say such a thing about one of your own students! He was also worried by the fact that none of the surrounding Gryffindors showed much concern, not even Harry. It was just looks of pity flashed in the boy's direction and irritation at Snape. Remus schooled his features and raised an eyebrow at Snape.

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably." Remus watched from the corner of his eye as Neville's head snapped up before reddening even more. The absolute dread in his eyes started the new Professor. He barley paid attention as Snape left the room before drawing the classes' attention again. He brought them to the wardrobe in the back of the room which the Boggart was hiding in.

...

Neville didn't listen as much as he should have when the Professor started to explain things about Boggarts before asking questions from Hermione and Harry. Neville was staring at the wardrobe with absolute terror. He knew what a Boggart was. He'd come across one a while back, and it wasn't a pretty sight. If that other wizard hadn't jumped in, he would have been in a lot of trouble. To this day, he still didn't know who it was that saved him.

Neville gave a small sound of terror when he realised what his Boggart would appear to be if he didn't fix it now. He realised that what he was really afraid of... was that he would never be good enough. Even his family thought that he was a squib. If Uncle Algie hadn't thrown him out that window, they probably wouldn't have found out that he had magic at all. Sometimes he wondered if he should, as his family hadn't cared about the fact he was thrown from the top floor, over the fact that he would be able to make them money in the future as he was a wizard. They wouldn't have cared if he died. Well, seeing as they nearly killed him on a regular basis, he wasn't too surprised. He paid more attention to Professor Lupin when he was explaining the charm and tried it with the rest of the class.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... Riddikulus!" the class repeated the charm correctly.

"Good," replied the Professor, "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

Neville gulped and walked forward, and he could feel himself shaking, almost as violently as the wardrobe itself. He still hadn't figured out how to face this thing. The Professor spoke up again.

"Right, Neville, first things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you the most in the world?"

Neville desperately tried to think of something, anything, that wouldn't reveal the truth about his life. He could only mouth the words of fear running through his head. Then a sudden thought struck him. Who was the one person that proved that he was worthless? That he'd never be useful at all?

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," the Professor spoke up again cheerfully. Neville looked around the room. He was certain that what he said now was going to make him the laughing stock of the class again. He could only barely whisper the name of one of the people that scared him the most.

"Professor Snape."

...

Remus froze once again when those words left the terrified youth's mouth. How dare a teacher scare a child so much that he considered him one of the scariest things in the world?! Remus could see that this wasn't a simple fear and the boy had been struggling with his answer before. He stopped to wonder what it was that the child was hiding, what was the fear that Snape was representing? He snapped back to attention when the class burst into laughter and the small student in front of him flinched before forcing a grin. Once again, Remus forced himself to calm down before turning to the boy again.

"Professor Snape... hmmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" Apparently that was not the right thing to say. Neville had flinched rather violently and the look of raw terror that flooded the boy's eyes had Mooney growling again. He watched the boy try to recover himself before answering nervously.

"Err- yes, but- I really don't want the Boggart to turn into her either." Remus was quick to remedy his mistake.

"No, no, you misunderstood me," he smiled, trying to reassure the boy, "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?" He waited for the boy to respond; glad he was much calmer than before, although confused.

"Well... always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top; and a long dress... green, normally... and sometimes a fox-fur scarf." Remus grinned at the image before prompting further,

"And a hand-bag?" The boy looked startled once again before grinning and answering, obviously catching where Remus was going with this. He realised that Neville was actually quite smart, contrary to Snape's thoughts.

"A big red one," replied Neville. Remus spoke again before the class got restless.

"Right then, can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?" The boy nodded, and gave a soft affirmative answer.

"When the Boggart bursts out of the wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand, and cry 'Riddikulus'- and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Snape will be forced into the vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag." Many students laughed at that, but Neville's grin was still uncertain. He turned to the rest of the class.

"If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," he told the excited class. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."

...

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin. Neville wanted to turn to the professor and tell him that, in fact he was not alright and would like to leave now and go die in a hole, but alas, fear kept his mouth shut. He froze with the professors next words.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot -"

They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe.

"On the count of three, Neville," the Professor spoke as he pointed his own wand at the wardrobe handle, "One, two and three! Now!" As the sparks left the Professor's wand and hit the doorknob, all of Neville's senses were overcome with dread. Suddenly, Professor Snape strode from the wardrobe, as menacing as ever. His eyes immediately locked onto Neville before sneering.

Neville backed away, mouthing the charm, as the Professor brought his hand to his robes and opened his mouth to speak.

"You will never"- Neville suddenly cut him off, imagining his Gran's clothes and stuttering out the spell.

"R - r - _Riddikulus!_" There was a loud crack before Professor Snape stumbled over his _heels._ There was a roar of laughter from the class as they caught sight of their Professor wearing a long, green, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a stuffed vulture that had been attacked by moths, and clutching a huge red hand-bag to his chest.

The Boggart stopped, confused by the laughter before Professor Lupin called the next student forward. Neville tried to pay attention to the turns of the rest of the class, but the fact that the Boggart had been _so close_ to speaking his fear terrified him. Suddenly attention was drawn to their Professor. He ran forward and yelled,

"Here!" The legless spider vanished and before the professor was a silvery-white orb hanging in the air. Neville had just enough time to recognise it as the moon before the Professor changed it to a cockroach.

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" as the Professor said this Neville rushed forward to once again see Professor Snape before casting the clothes quickly and laughing as hard as he could, even if it was forced.

The Boggart exploded in to wisps of smoke before it disappeared and Professor Lupin congratulated the class and awarded points. Neville was happy to take ten points for facing the Boggart twice. As Professor Lupin spoke to Harry, Hermione and then gave out homework, Neville wondered about their strange professor.

He looked a little shabby, had many scars, excellent hearing, and was apparently afraid of the full moon. Neville jolted as he realised where his line of thought was heading. Professor Lupin couldn't possibly be a _werewolf_, could he?

**Hi guys! So I finished chapter one! I figured that I'd do this one simple like this, following the book before I actually change things around a little. I personally really like Remus, so I did his opinion a little, but it probably won't happen again.**

**Next chapter will have Neville approach Prof. Lupin about his discovery and hopefully some Snape.**

**See ya next time! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here's the second chap of **_**From**__**Boggarts**__**To**__**Family**_**; hope you like it~**

**So last time we had our DADA lesson and both Remus and Neville have figured out some stuff about the other. This chap will hopefully have some more Severus in it but the confrontation between Snape and Neville won't happen until the next chap. **

**I also have no idea of the time line right now, so I'm going to do my own thing here. This story is just going to be focused on the relationships between Neville, Severus, and now Remus because I love him too much to not have him become a main character. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Let's a go!**

Neville Longbottom was conflicted.

Personally, he had nothing against Werewolves, after scouring the library and reading _all_ he could about them (which did include Neville asking Peeves to sneak into the restricted section for him), and finding that they were struggling under the heavy weight of a terrible curse, that did absolutely nothing to change who they were inside. And Neville Longbottom firmly believed that Professor Remus Lupin was a good man, no matter what he might transform into on a full moon.

But, Neville Longbottom was also _dying of curiosity. _He wanted- no _needed -_ to know the truth. The Muggle phrase "Curiosity Killed the Cat" came to mind. The need to know what the truth is, was killing him.

Now you can see why Neville was conflicted. Because confronting the professor, while giving him the answer he wants, might really offend him, and Neville really didn't want that to happen, seeing as the Professor had been so great to him so far, besides the making-him-face-a-Boggart part.

Neville sat by himself in the Gryffindor common room, as it was early in the morning. He was completing the homework that had been given yesterday, as after the Boggart incident, he hadn't been able to concentrate long enough to do anything remotely productive, besides Herbology, which was always calming for him.

Neville had dropped Divination when coming into this year, as he obviously had no talent as a seer. He knew that most of his classmates were taking it because it was an easy subject, but Neville didn't want to be stuck in the future regretting his decisions. He'd taken up Care of Magical Creatures and Study of Ancient Runes. He was surprisingly good at both of those, but Neville supposed it was because they didn't require any wand-work. It was devastating for him that he was so appalling at magic.

Sometimes he wondered if everything would've been better off if he hadn't of bounced. His family would be happier, the other students would be happier, and probably the teachers as well. If only he had been taken alongside of his parents.

Before he could think any further on the matter, he heard some noise coming from the dorms upstairs. He'd finished all his homework besides Ancient Runes, but that was some easy stuff and the next lesson was in three days, so he would just do it after breakfast. Neville packed up all the books and put them in his satchel. The twins had put a feather light charm on it for him, and since there was no problem with weight he kept everything of value to him inside it. He didn't have classes today, so he took his time in heading down to the Great Hall, greeting the ghosts and portraits on the way. He figured he'd just grab a quick breakfast before heading outside to relax.

Neville avoided looking at any living person as he entered the Great Hall, heading straight to the Gryffindor table. There weren't many people in, students or teachers, so Neville relaxed a little. He was surprised to find the twins already at breakfast, as no one had been down in the common room with him, but he supposed that they had used some of the secret passages to get here quicker.

They waved him over and he grinned, sitting himself opposite them and pouring some porridge into the bowl that appeared before him. He could feel the twins wanted to talk to him about something, so he continued to ignore them, stalling by cooling his porridge, adding salt, and looking around the hall. The twins finally cleared their throats when it looked like he was about to wave at one of the only other people in the hall, another third year, a _Slytherin, _named Theodore Nott. Neville sighed and made eye contact with Fred through his lashes, as Fred was always the twin that started.

"We heard from some-" "anonymous sources, that you-" "had a peculiar run in with a Boggart yesterday-" "and thought it strange that you hadn't mentioned _anything _of the sort to us-" "yesterday at lunch-" "_or_ dinner." Neville found it funny that the twins could ask you a question without actually asking one, and expect an answer from you that they already knew. Neville shrugged his shoulders and spooned some porridge. His bottom lip jutted out and he mumbled something unintelligible directed to the table. The twins sighed in unison and Neville watched George's hand (because George had an extra freckle on his left hand, right on his index finger's knuckle) come into his field of vision and pat his own shaking hand softly.

"I'm sorry guys. I just- I was embarrassed and didn't want to think about it anymore. Besides, listening to _your _classroom adventures are always more fun. Anyway, I think I'm going to head to the courtyard after breakfast to finish off my Ancient Runes. Who are you planning to terrorise today? Oh, I heard that one of the Slytherin firsties is terrified of water, but I'm not sure which one, so just avoid all water pranks with them until I can find out which one, okay?" Neville saw the twins glance at each other when it became obvious that he was changing the subject, but they nodded along and jumped into brainstorming their newest plot to him.

…

Remus smiled as he watched Neville interacting with the Weasley twins, before catching himself. He had been paying a lot of attention to the diminutive boy lately, but he was glad to see that he had some friends, and that also explained why he'd been so friendly to Peeves. The boy was a prankster. Remus realised that Neville was probably the brains of their little trio, like he had been himself with the Marauders when he was young, but more innocent. Remus knew that James and Sirius were bullies, and it'd hurt him whenever they did something unkind to someone. He was ashamed of himself for being a bystander, but he had thought that he had no choice. If he had said something to them, they could've rejected him. He would've been left all alone again. And even worse, what if they had turned on him and revealed to everyone what a monster he was?

It was bad enough what Sirius had done in fifth year to Severus. Oh, poor, poor, Severus. He had borne the brunt of so much cruelty throughout his life, from his family, to his classmates, to the man that they had all looked up to and was supposed to protect him. But no, that was no excuse for what he had done to Neville. Well, Remus had dealt with that yesterday.

Just thinking of the talk he had had with Severus made him worry. Oh, how Neville must have struggled throughout his life. Remus nearly gasped aloud when he felt Moony rear up in his mind and let out a vicious snarl. What had gotten into him lately? It was almost as if Moony were reacting to Neville as he was his… no. No way. Moony thought that Neville was his _cub? _

Remus excused himself from the head table, not really paying attention to the answers he received in return, before rushing outside to the courtyard. He needed some air.

…

Severus was in a bad mood. Well, more so than usual. After the incident with Longbottom in potions, he'd gone to the staff room in hopes of calming down, but that _wolf _had led his little class of brats in, to have a go at the boggart that resided in the wardrobe. After being shut down on his snarky remark, he had decided to retire to his quarters, but had run into that blasted poltergeist on the way, and had to deal with removing chewing gum from his hair. Of course, it hadn't been a problem, but it was still irritating.

He only had a brief time of relief in his chambers, being able to drop his glamour and relax for a short while, grading some papers before deciding to sleep. It had still been early, but he had been unable to sleep for the past two nights, as was required for the brewing of a potion he'd been working on, one that required attention during the night, under the moonlight.

He had just been about to give in to Morpheus when the door of his office had started to shake from the sheer force of the knocks being delivered onto it. He was made to get up, reapply his glamour, and was about to deal with some moron. It had been a surprise for him to find Remus Lupin, perfectly calm, standing patiently with a small smile on his face. Severus scowled, before stepping aside to let the wolf in. He knew that Lupin wouldn't have come down here if it wasn't extremely important.

What came as a greater shock was that, in the time that he had let him in, closed the door and turned around, Lupin's demeanour had changed drastically. The tranquil composure of the man had vanished completely, and before him stood a being of rage. Lupin had the darkest look on his face that he had ever seen on the man, his hands were clenched into fists, and his eyes had brightened dramatically, some of the amber colour that betrayed his inner beast leaking in.

Only Severus' many years of training kept him from stepping back away from the furious wolf when he first saw him, but Severus' own power did nothing to freeze him in place when Lupin snarled his next sentence at him, it was only pure fear.

"_How dare you. _How dare you do that to a child? Do you know what happened today after you _fled _from the staff room? Neville, who did perform admirably in your absence, faced the worst boggart I have ever witnessed in my entire life. It was not a spider, or a clown, or some other beast, not even one of the _psychopaths _that _tortured his parents to insanity. _No. His boggart, was _you." _Severus' jaw- against his better judgement- dropped. A Boggart only embodied the absolute worst fear of a person, and for a child to think that _he-_ No. It didn't matter. Severus wasn't here to be nice to them, he was here to protect them.

"So? You think this matters to me, why?" Severus drawled his words slowly, trying his best to keep up his mask. Lupin visibly shook with rage and Severus was not ashamed to admit that he felt the slightest twinge of fear slide its cold fingers down his spine, ever so slowly. Lupin stalked forward slowly as a mixture of snarls and growls ripped from his throat to form words.

"_I think_ this matters to you, you _cold hearted bastard_, because that boy is just a _child_, and he chose _you_ to be the representation of his greatest fear. _Don't you dare interrupt me Severus, I'm talking here."_ Severus' mouth snapped shut of its own free will where it had opened to object. "I did say _chose, _Severus, and I meant it. That boy is much smarter than you give him credit for, and whatever it is he fears is either not completely physical or its physical embodiment is too horrifying to picture. You are someone that makes his fear real, present. I want you to find out what. _This is not an option. _I'm going to work as well.There is something _wrong _here, and I will find out what." As he spoke Lupin's inner wolf seemed to calm somewhat with his worry, so by the end of his rant, only an exhausted man remained. Severus finally took in how somnolent the man looked. His struggle with the beast just before had obviously drained him, and his concern over the boy had only worsened his already fragile condition. Severus understood that Lupin's most recent transformation was harder on him than usual, so he was still recovering. Reacting without thinking, Severus caught Lupin when he staggered forward and guided him to the closest seat. He felt Lupin's sigh more than heard it when he sagged into the couch.

"I'm sorry Severus. It's just- there's something terrible happening right under our noses and I can't handle the thought of this poor boy suffering any more. I know that you suffered in the same way as a child. I never got to apologise for what we did to you._ I'm so sorry_. You didn't deserve that. And in fifth year… I'll never forgive myself." Severus stopped Lupin's voice, thick with unshed tears, from continuing by carefully patting his shoulder. Severus had never been able to find it within himself to hate him, as Lupin had never done anything to him. Well, anything of his own decision. He understood why Lupin had never _helped _either, but he wasn't about to go and tell him and give him any ideas of friendship. But to think, that for all these years, Lupin had been carrying around the burden of both his curse and his guilt made Severus feel the slightest bit of sympathy for him. It was this that was the start of something new. Severus, in this moment, chose to be kind to Remus Lupin.

"What happened in fifth year? I can't seem to recall anything abysmal happening that year concerning you, Lupin. For all your thoughtfulness, you seem to be losing your memory." Those were the words that broke him. Severus sighed as Remus tried to apologise to him through his sobbing and wandlessly conjured a blanket for the man sitting before him, on his couch, in his rooms, shaking with the might of his tears. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Severus with his arm cautiously circled around Remus' shoulders and the smaller man leant into him and tried to control his breathing.

As he waited for Lupin to speak again Severus contemplated the reason why this situation had occurred. What was the fear of Longbottom that caused Severus to appear? Lupin had said that the boy had chosen him, so what-or who- was the real body of his fear? He needed more information. Leaning back slightly, he noticed Lupin's breathing had regulated so he removed his arm completely and refused to think about the sudden loss of warmth.

"Lupin-"

"Severus, please call me Remus." A sigh.

"_Remus, _I need to know what else happened today to help you." Remus straightened up and took a breath before jumping into his tale, from the beginning. About how Neville had seemed alone and sad from the beginning of the lesson, to the way all the students had reacted to the confrontation with Severus in the staff room. He might have skipped the Peeves incident, pranksters stick together after all, but he didn't refrain from scolding Severus for being mean.

Severus payed attention when Remus stated that even the _Golden Trio _hadn't cared for Longbottom when he'd been insulted, and cut in to tell Remus that none of the Gryffindors _ever _really tried to stand up for Longbottom, unless they were going to be involved in some way. Remus was obviously disappointed in the Lion's attitudes, as he let out a dejected sigh before agreeing. He then continued to speak of the terrified way in which Neville had acted until the big event.

"He was stalling. I could see the way he was frantically thinking, trying to come up with something. You are just a little bit of his fear, so don't think you're in the clear yet. You still have to go to that boy and find out what's wrong. I'm going to try and help him as well, but I don't want to get too intrusive. He doesn't know me, and I don't want him feeling like all the people he could rely on are going to turn on him." Severus nodded along. It was completely logical, but, although he didn't want to admit it, he was worried. What if he scared the boy even further into despair? Remus could obviously see what he was thinking because the wolf reached over and patted his arm lightly before moving to stand.

"I apologise for the intrusion Severus. It's getting late and I must retire soon. I'm… I'm sorry about before, I-" Severus, once again, saved him by standing and leading Remus to the door, seemingly amazing the man by allowing his lips to twitch up in something that resembled a smile. After the wolf had left, Severus repeated his nightly schedule again and had headed to bed.

Snapping back to attention, he watched as Remus, with a startled expression on his face, fled the Great Hall and headed out the doors.

**Sorry if this chapter is absolutely terrible, because I feel like it is. I'll try and get a better chapter up soon, so hopefully you won't be waiting as long as you did for this one. Please review and tell me what you think, and if you have any suggestions. And I don't have a beta so sorry for any mistakes. **

**What do you think will happen next? **

**Bye**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay so I don't really have any excuse for how long it's taken me to update. I just haven't really felt like writing anything at all, and then when I did start to write, it was working on my third story, **_**Spells of Starvation **_**[which I would love for you guys to check out] and the Quidditch comp. So yeah, sorry.**

**Also, I have no timeline after the first chapter, if you hadn't already noticed.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for waiting!**

**I own nothing but my words and ideas.**

Neville sighed as he noticed that the courtyard he had been planning to finish his work in was already occupied by someone. They were sitting in the shade on the far side, so he couldn't really see who it was, but they were quite large. He decided to just stay on his side and try not to bother them with his presence unless they made a move towards him.

Settling down on one of the stone benches framing the centre, Neville relaxed and pulled out his work books. It was a lovely day. The sun was filtering gently through the light, fluffy clouds overhead being pulled across the sky by the light wind, and the only real sound was that of young birds calling out for breakfast from their mothers and the distant sounds of the other students somewhere in the castle or on the grounds. Neville pulled up his legs and began to steadily work through his assignments. This continued for about half an hour before he detected movement from the other person whom he shared this space with.

Glancing up through his lashes, Neville watched the mystery person rise and step forwards; toward the archway that would lead them back to the hall. He flinched as a sudden gust of wind caught one of his papers and threw it towards the other occupant of the courtyard who caught it deftly and turned towards him. Neville jumped up after his paper (after making sure the others wouldn't fly away as well) and nearly ran across the courtyard to make sure whoever had caught it wouldn't tear it up when he realised that it was Professor Lupin who had caught the paper. He breathed a sigh of relief as he approached the Professor at a calmer pace and smiled up at him.

Neville's smile dropped a little at the look on the Professor's face. He looked shocked at the sight of Neville and his face was paler than normal. Neville knew that it wasn't because of his furry problem (if he did turn out to be a werewolf) because the closest full moon wasn't until the end of next week (which made Neville kind of curious about what would happen for their classes). The Professor seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and gave Neville a small, strained smile (which didn't reassure Neville at all) and look down at the paper he had caught. He grimaced when he saw that it was the DADA essay on Boggarts, which really confused Neville, seeing as it was his own assignment, before looking back to Neville and handing him the paper back with a more genuine smile. When it looked like he made to turn away Neville rapidly began to gather his Gryffindor courage and spoke up before it was too late. He didn't think he'd ever get a better chance to have his question answered then right now.

"Um Professor?" He winced at how loud it was but it got Professor Lupin's attention and he turned around again with a small smile on his face, nodding for Neville to continue. Neville opened his mouth to ask again when he realised that he had no idea how to phrase this question so that it wouldn't deeply insult the best teacher that he'd had so far. He reckoned that asking it as if it was a Defence question would probably work the best.

"Uh- I… I was just wondering if- if it was possible for- and I know this doesn't really have to do anything with what we've been learning lately but-I-was-reading-in-the-library-and-came-across-a-book-on-Magical-Creatures-and-" Professor Lupin cut off his rapid rambling with a soft chuckle and Neville stopped to catch his breath.

"Now Mr Longbottom, there's no need to be so nervous, calm down. I'm not sure if you're aware, but sometimes it's easier to ask questions when you pause to breathe every once in a while." Neville was aware of the growing colour in his cheeks but he wasn't upset. He could see in the possible-werewolf's face that there was no malice in the teasing. It actually succeeded in the fact that it made him calm down a tad. He shuffled his feet for a moment before taking another deep inhale and try again.

"I was reading in the library a little while ago and I came across a book on Magical Creatures and it looked really interesting so I read it all but then it made me wonder about the relationships between Wizards and the creatures and I have a few questions about it I was hoping you could answer? Only if you have the time of course. Sir." Neville opened his mouth to probably apologise when Professor Lupin smiled down at him and started to nod.

…

"Of course I have some time Neville. I will always have time for my students no matter what your reason is, big or small. If you have questions about your work, in class or out, or anything related to the subject you can always ask. Or, if you ever just need someone to talk to, I'm always available." Neville's shoulders slumped a little and his head ducked down. Remus was worried for a moment until he saw the bright, tremulous smile that was being hidden. It brought out a warm feeling in Remus and he startled for a moment when he felt the contentment radiating from Moony at the sight of his happy cub. There was also the slight pain in his chest area when he realised that not too many people had probably ever given him such a welcoming invitation to talk before based on his reaction and the fear at the mention of his grandmother during the previous lesson. He wasn't sure that Neville would take up his offer right away— if ever— but he felt glad that Neville had taken the request so well.

In the few moments of peace that Remus had had to himself, he had come to terms with what Moony's recognition of his cub meant for him. It didn't really mean much except that he would feel like Neville was his son of sorts, and Remus felt like that wouldn't be too much of a bother because even if he had a child he wouldn't favour them in class as that wasn't fair. He would be more protective of the boy, but he could always say it was because he was a fellow Gryffindor and Neville reminded him of himself at that age, and he _had_ been close friends with Alice when they were in school.

He smiled at the boy once more and waited for him to collect his papers before leading him to his office. He watched the boy subtly on the way, and it seemed as if even though the boy was extremely nervous, he was determined to have his questions answered. Moony, and Remus for that matter, felt a surge of pride for Neville. You didn't see it too often, but there _was _a reason the third-year was placed in Gryffindor after all. Not that Remus had ever doubted him.

The petite boy was seemingly amazed by his office. Remus didn't really find anything about it extremely spectacular, but maybe the Grindylow in the tank behind his desk was becoming more of an attention seeker than the last time he'd had someone up here. Remus was slightly shocked (and pretty pleased) that Neville was also taking interest in the many artefacts and books he had on the bookshelves and display cases that stood on either side of the door. He watched as the pre-teen examined the detailed diagrams of various Magical Creatures and wand movements that were covering the remaining wall spaces. Remus smiled and sat in his chair, waiting for the preteen to take a seat.

…

Neville took and deep breath and exhaled slowly as he sat down, lifting his head to meet the Professor's gaze head-on so that he would know that Neville had only innocent and truthful queries. He was still feeling quite light in his chest from the kindness the professor had shown him before in the courtyard, and he hoped that what he was going to ask wouldn't jeopardise that. Before he could begin to doubt himself, Neville decided to start on his inquiry. He did actually have some questions about the relations between Wizards and Magical Creatures, now that he thought about it.

"Okay Neville, shoot. What did you want to know?" Professor Lupin smiled at him benevolently and Neville leant forwards slightly.

"My first question is, well, what makes a Magical Creature a Magical Creature? Why are they different from Muggle animals?" Professor Lupin smiled and explained Magical Qualities to him in great detail. The questions went on like that for a few minutes until Neville came to Goblins.

"Why are they classified as Creatures instead of people? They're just like Wizards and Witches expect they look different, right?" Professor Lupin sighed and slumped forwards a little onto his desk. He looked at Neville for a moment, just observing, and Neville started to get a little nervous until he sat up straight again and linked his fingers together, resting his chin on them.

"Alright Neville, I'm going to tell you something and you mustn't repeat it, because it could get us in some trouble with the Ministry, and neither of us want that, right?" Neville nodded instantly. Professor Lupin sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The Ministry… are not always right." He stopped for a moment, looking at Neville until he nodded again. "Sometimes, people in power say certain things, or make certain decisions because they want to, or they have a certain opinion. This is called bias, and unfortunately, the people in the Ministry have quite a bit of bias against anyone or anything that is not the same as themselves. Now, I'm not saying _everyone _in the Ministry is like this, but the ones in power usually are quite similar. The Goblins, as you know, are quite intelligent, but some time ago they were not as Magically powerful as the Wizards, and thus lost a war to us. The Wizards took advantage of that, and technically enslaved the Goblins. Now as time passed, many other countries realised their mistakes and freed the Goblins so all people could be on equal terms. Some others, including England, did not do this. Our Ministry is one of the harshest against Magical Creatures in the world, because they are the most afraid of anything that they cannot, or will not, understand. Ignorance comes from fear, and all humans, Wizards or Muggles, fear what they do not know. Do you understand?" Neville took a moment to process everything he had heard before affirming with the professor. It was simple and did make a lot of sense, but this was also the perfect time to ask what he really wanted to know.

"Is it the same with others? Like Faeries and werewolves?" Neville felt bad when he noticed the professor freeze slightly before the man cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well, not exactly, but to some extent. The Fae and Sidhe are very diverse—there are different types of how they are classified. There are the Lesser Fae and Greater Fae, and within those two there are more: Lesser Faeries, Greater Faeries and Pixies, and the Animal and Plant Fae are all types of Lesser Fae, while the Greater Fae are what we call Sentient Fae. The thing is, because there are more Lesser Fae than Greater, the whole group of Fae are classified as Magical Creatures by the Ministry instead of Magical Beings, which the Greater Fae are. Does that make sense?" Neville's neck was going to be sore by the end of this conversation because of all the nodding he was doing.

"Now the werewolves… they're also a different situation. The people who are turned into werewolves are just normal Wizards until their transformations – because Muggles usually don't survive the first transformation—so they should be seen as people, right? It would be that simple, except the beast that lives inside them has no proper sentience; it only has singular, primitive thoughts that are not intelligent enough to be classified as anything other than a mon-… than a Creature. And sometimes, the people who are bitten decide to integrate with their inner beast, and then they are no longer people at all. So it's a bit complicated. Do you understand?" For the first time since they started their conversation, Neville shook his head instead of nodding it, and Professor Lupin looked a little surprised by it.

…

Remus shouldn't be so surprised; he was only thirteen after all, he wasn't expected to comprehend everything on the first go, no matter how intelligent he seemed.

"Do you need me to repeat-" Remus didn't even have time to be shocked over the fact that the timid boy was interrupting him before he was left speechless.

"Sorry professor, but no. I get what you're trying to say, but I don't agree with you. I personally believe that werewolves are not monsters in any sense of the word."

**I think I'll leave this here. :D**


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